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Originally Posted by Homesick Anyone else out there with me?
I was happy, then sad, to find this site. I've been reading through some of the threads. Smilin' one minute, cryin' the next. I left MD some moons ago. Never wanting to look back. I flew to the sunshine state, thinking sunny all the time would be great. Funny...how the thing's I longed to run from, are now the thing's I long to run back to. Though I am sure MD is not the same, nothing stays the same. Maybe just romancing the thought of it being like it once was. It did help to read in one of the threads that the "Bobwhites" and "Whip-er-wils"  are no longer around...sad. One of the many thing's I miss. Also, the blue steamed crabs smothered in ole bay. Hardly can find any here in the south, not the way they make'em back home. *mouthwatering*
Anyhoo, thanks all of you here for all the trips down memory lane. Oh, one fella here, hmmm, forget his name, (sorry, incase you happen to pop in here) he made a site about Marlow Heights in the 60's and 70's, haven't had the time to check it out yet, but in one of your post you talked
about "Grits" ...thank you. Thought maybe I made them up. I remember them. I had forgot that that's what they were called until I read what you wrote. I went to Thomas Stone High school in the 70's. That's when I was introduced to them, course I tried to stay out of their way. But, sometimes it was very hard to do so, specially when needing to use the bathroom. They gathered there to smoke. I'll never forget the countless times the bathroom went up in flames after they'd string toilet paper around the stalls, then with a strike of a match..POOF. I learned how fast paper will burn. And for any Thomas Stone peeps out there that don't know, you can thank them for that space that is now called a smoking lounge...if it's still there. Have wondered about that also. |
Homesick,
I'm with you. I basically grew up in Marlow Heights, and lived in Northern Virginia from '85-'04 (except for one year in Italy). Last year I had this wild dream to flee the awful DC area traffic, long commutes, and extremely rude people. I managed to get an offer from a company in Melbourne, Florida, and in the beginning it was almost too good to be true: my salary only dropped less than 10% what it was in the DC area, the company paid for full relocation, heck, even gave me a "disruption bonus". Bought a nice house with an average 20 minute drive to work. The weather was great, and the people seemed to be very courteous and friendly. Then the four hurricanes hit us.
After the first one we did not have commercial power for 10 days, after the last one, we were without commercial power for five days. Thank God we bought a generator that could power the entire house! But running that thing 24 hours a day, and going to the gas station every two to three days to fill up gas cans (with long waits due to shortages everywhere) was no fun. The damage to our home was bad enough that we needed to get a new roof and new privacy fence. We eventually had those things replaced, but it was a five month ordeal, dealing with the insurance company and the housing contractors.
Well, this area seems to be an increasingly popular destination, so the roads are getting more congested everyday, lengthening drive times, and making people more aggressive. The other thing is, well, the "laid back" culture here. Good in a way, but frustrating when you're trying to get something done with a business or local/state agency. For example, you have to go one place to get your driver's license (a 3 1/2 hour wait for me, a four hour wait for my mother), and yet another place to register your vehicles. I get the impression that the folks down here don't care if they get your business in the first place, or keep it if you decide to hire them.
Despite the sunshine and generally year round good weather (I could sit out in my patio in shorts and t-shirt just about every day of the year), I found myself missing the four seasons. If there's more than one season here, I missed it. I also found myself missing things about the DC area, and outer DC areas like SOMD. I guess that's what led me to put together my Marlow Heights web site. The more I worked on it, the more I missed the DC area generally, and Maryland specifically (yeah, even PG County!).
I don't want to bad mouth this part of Florida. It has a lot going for it, and some people really love it here. I decided to try to find a way back. But rather than heading back to Northern Virginia where I lived since '85, I decided to try to find work in SOMD. If that doesn't pan out, I'll try someplace else in Maryland closer to the Beltway. I have made some positive steps. Today I had a technical phone interview with a company that does contract work at Pax River. If hired, I would be given full relocation--can't beat that. Only time will tell if I interested this company enough to fly me up for an in person interview. Keep your fingers crossed for me! If that doesn't work out, I'll keep plugging away.
If I do manage to get back to Maryland, particularly SOMD, then my move down to Florida will have been a nice one year vacation in the Sunshine State. And it was a good move, because we made a killing off selling our home in Dale City, and we have no debts. I know I'm going to have to deal with the higher housing prices up there, but believe it or not, the prices down here aren't that much less. It's every bit as much of a seller's market down here as it is up there, so it's very likely I'll do well in selling my home here.
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